Follow SLMuslims on

Latest News

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was recently appointed as the Prime Minister by President Maithripala Sirisena has decided to resign from the premiership tomorrow after a special statement, MP Namal Rajapaksa tweeted a short while ago.
http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/MR-to-resign-tomorrow-Namal-159811.html

The Supreme Court has decided to take up the appeal of Mahinda Rajapaksa against the interim order of the Court of Appeal on the premiership on the 16th, 17th and 18th of January 2019.
However, the request of the petitioners for a stay order on the interim order restraining Mahinda Rajapaksa from holding office of Prime Minister and his Cabinet from functioning has been unanimously rejected by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has also ordered the Appeal Court not to hear the petition against Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Cabinet holding office, until the Supreme Court hearing is over.
The Court informed the parties that if they wish the petition to be heard before a five-member judge bench, they should refer the request to the Chief Justice.
Justice Eva Wanasundera, who was a part of the three-judge panel which considered the appeal...

Water supply to Rajagiriya and surrounding areas will be disrupted for 18-hours commencing from tomorrow 12 a.m. and until Sunday 6 p.m., the following day, the National Water Supply and Drainage Board said.Accordingly, water supply to Moragasmulla, Rajagiriya, Athulkotte, Obeysekarapura, Bandaranayakepura, Nawala, Koswatte, and Rajagiriya to Open University of Sri Lanka Nawala, and surrounding areas.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2018/12/14/local/171393/18-hour-water-cut-rajagiriya-and-surrounding-areas

The Appeal was also granted special leave to proceed.
The proceedings of the Court of Appeal with regard to the case were stayed until the Supreme Court hearing is concluded.
The appeal is to be taken up for further hearing on January 16, 17 and 18, 2019. (Shehan Chamika Silva)
http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/SC-refuses-to-vacate-CA-s-interim-order-against-MR-159809.html

The Supreme Court today ruled that President Maithripala Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament was unconstitutional and illegal.
Chief Justice Nalin Perera delivering the verdict said that if President wants to dissolve Parliament before four and half years, there must be a resolution passed by two-thirds majority in Parliament.
The verdict was announced unanimously.
Court also decided that the petitioners fundamental right, under article 12(1) has been violated by this executive act.
http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/SC-rules-dissolution-of-parliament-illegal-159742.html

Featured Articles

By Sister Shahnaaz Bemath Thinking positive can work miracles. You may have been told to “guard your thoughts”, but felt the advice to be pointless. After all, your thoughts are private. How can they possibly affect someone else? The fact is, thoughts do seem to boomerang in some mysterious ways. Science has not found a way to measure them as they have invisible sound waves. In order to understand how positive thinking works, and how to use it efficiently, it is important to understand the power of negative thinking.

“Negative thoughts and tensions are like birds. We cannot stop them from flying near us but, we can certainly stop them from making a nest in our mind.”

After abandoning his far-right party to embrace Islam, a former colleague of Dutch politician Geert Wilders has visited the holy lands in Saudi Arabia to perform his first `Umrah (lesser pilgrimage) in his life.

“If any person told me that I will visit the land of the two holy shrines, I would have told him that he must be insane,” Arnoud Van Doorn told Al-Madinah newspaper.

“Finding Islam is a dream came true,” a tearful Doorn added.

Doorn, a member of the far-right Freedom Party (PVV) has embraced Islam earlier this year after an extensive study into the religion.

He was among party leaders who helped produce an offensive film titled Fitna that linked Islam and the Qur’an to violence.

World powers must intervene to stop the systematic extermination of the Muslim minority and provide much-needed aid in the form of medicines and food

By Tariq Al Maeena | Special to Gulf News

The threat of war against Syria and Iran has been grabbing headlines for weeks, accompanied by ever more sensationalist claims by the mainstream media. The tensions are naturally high and the scenario could be grim.

Michel Chossudovsky, a Canadian professor of economics and author of several books charges that “a sophisticated and all encompassing propaganda programme supports war in the name of world peace and global security. The underlying scenario of worldwide conflict goes far beyond the diabolical design of [George] Orwell’s 1984. The Ministry of Truth upholds war as a peacemaking undertaking by twisting realities upside down. In turn, the lies and fabrications of the mainstream media are presented with various innuendos in a complex web of deceit”.

Egypt Scenario

Egypt is no ordinary place. It is the land where tyranny runs deep and Pharaohs claim to be God.

And yet, paradoxically, Egypt also is the place from where the clarion cry of freedom rang out when Moses (May God Bless Him!) demanded from Pharaoh: Let My People Go!

Or, as the Qur’ān put it: Arsil ma’iya banee Israa-eel.

After thousands of years, that same timeless drama of Right vs. Wrong is being played out again. And this time, it is between a modern-day Moses in the person of Ikhwan’s candidate for President, Dr. Muhammad Morsi, and the forces of tyranny and corruption embodied in the Military regime of Mubarak and others.

Nirmal Ranjith Dewarsiri is with the department of history, University of Colombo.

The recent attack led by Buddhist monks on the Khairya Jumma mosque located in the so-called “sacred zone” of the Dambulla rock temple in the central province is important even though it did not develop into a larger scale clash between the Buddhist and Muslim communities of Sri Lanka. The Dambulla Khairya Jummah mosque had been in existence for over 60 years and the mosque trustees have legal documents regarding its construction. On Friday the 20th of April 2012 a tense situation arose as regular Friday prayer at the mosque was prevented by a gang led by Buddhist monks who claimed that it was an illegal construction built on sacred Buddhist ground.

Many view this incident as an isolated event led by a group of extremists; an event which was easily quelled as it did not represent the sentiments of the majority Buddhist populace. Although this may be true, this line of thinking conceals some of the realities of the inter-religious relations in Sri Lanka within which the Dambulla incident could be located. In this short piece, I attempt to highlight existing problems in the religious setting in the Sinhala-Buddhist south of Sri Lanka giving special attention to the Dambulla incident.

Almost three weeks after the vandalisation of a mosque in the Dambulla district by a 2,000 odd mob led by some Buddhist clergy, a Buddhist organisation called the Buddhist Protection Foundation held a protest march and a campaign on Monday in Kalutara demanding the removal of the in Dambulla.

Addressing media, the Executive Director of the Foundation Priest Puliyadde Sudhamma Thero said that the protest was just “a beginning of a series of protests against the Muslim mosque in Dambulla.”

A common question among many who possess a little knowledge of Islam is, why no non-Muslims allowed in Makka and Madina, two most sacred cities of Islam. The instant answer, that goes usually is, what business do they have in these cities? Picnic? Leisure? Official? Religious visit? Absolutely no need exists for a non-Muslim to travel to these cities. In the first place, they have never been tourist attractions, neither for Muslims nor for others. And for that matter, Muslims never travel there for the purpose of merry-making. They are meant for pure and focused worship of Allah alone.

Holy lands are indeed sacred and they exist on this earth as sites that are respected and that should be respected, not only by the people who believe in the particular faith but by every one in the civilized world. As people who live by Islamic faith, we have sensitivity over this delicate subject because Islam too has its own proclaimed sacred places. These places belong to every Muslim in world and it is their refutable obligation safeguarding and cherishing those places. The countries that have those sacred places within their geographical areas cannot proscribe Muslims coming to their countries for just about any reason.

Terror war: The thunder, blunder and the plunder

A year ago, the United States’ President, Barack Obama, announced that his country’s most wanted man had been killed in Abottabad, Pakistan. That the killing occurred on May 1, the day on which Labour Day is marked, is significant too, because Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda movement, shook Corporate America or the so-called one per cent that own 42 percent of the US national wealth.

Bin Laden’s terror group took on the US at a time when the superpower arrogance was at its peak. The US bombed and invaded countries at will and arm-twisted developing countries to promote the interest of Corporate America, so much so, some even longed for the return of the Cold War, a period during which the Soviet Union checked the US moves to dominate the world.

Sri Lanka's road to peaceful co-existence

Featured Articles

Monday, 30 April 2012 19:53

The intent to demolish Dambulla mosque tears at wounds of ethnic violence which are in the process of healing

By Tariq A. Al Maeena

Following a protracted and violent civil war that lasted for more than 26 years costing thousands of lives and destruction of property, it would have been natural to assume that Sri Lanka would set itself on the path of healing through national reconciliation with all its peoples; Buddhists, Tamils and Muslims.

Yet, within many Tamils there exists a widespread belief that the Sri Lankan government is trying to wipe out their Tamil culture and religious identity by constructing Buddhist temples in Tamil areas. Now many of another ethnic minority feel recent moves have taken another dimension.

The intent to demolish Dambulla mosque tears at wounds of ethnic violence which are in the process of healing

By Tariq A. Al Maeena

Following a protracted and violent civil war that lasted for more than 26 years costing thousands of lives and destruction of property, it would have been natural to assume that Sri Lanka would set itself on the path of healing through national reconciliation with all its peoples; Buddhists, Tamils and Muslims.

Yet, within many Tamils there exists a widespread belief that the Sri Lankan government is trying to wipe out their Tamil culture and religious identity by constructing Buddhist temples in Tamil areas. Now many of another ethnic minority feel recent moves have taken another dimension.

In a dangerous precedent reminiscent of another time and place, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister D.M. Dayaratne ordered the demolition of a 65-year-old mosque in Dambulla stating that the area was sacred to Buddhists. He tried to appease local sentiments by saying that the mosque would be relocated to another area. This public statement followed events recently when Buddhist agitators stormed the mosque and vandalised it, threatening its destruction.

The incident undoubtedly angered the island's Muslim community who have seen enough suffering and were severely victimised during the civil war for which they had paid a heavy price. During the civil war, caught in the crossfire between the government and the Tamils, they were attacked and slaughtered in village after village, even while offering prayers in the sanctity of their mosques. Their paddy lands were looted, businesses closed and had their very means of survival taken away. The entire Jaffna Muslim population was booted out of their homes and their belongings and property were stolen from them.

They are shocked and hurt that the demolition order strikes at the very core of religious freedom in a country attempting to heal itself. Muslim Congress Secretary and parliamentarian Hassan Ali said the "community will not accept a mosque in another place even if it was built of gold".

He also added that "If the places of religious worship of the minorities are being attacked while the police and army are idly watching, it implies that they are

supporting the marauders and providing security to them, instead of the law abiding people". Faced with the initial opposition, the prime minister claimed that this decision was taken after consultations with Muslim politicians. However, it was immediately debunked as a ‘blatant manufactured lie' and strongly rejected by leading Muslim politicians: Senior Minister A.H.M. Fawzie, Deputy Minister M.L.A.M. Hizbulla, Western Province Governor Alavi Moulana and Parliamentarian Abdul Khader, all of whom categorically reject the prime minister's claims. They assert that the mosque was built on land legally bought in 1964 and simply dismiss the allegations of militant Buddhists who claimed this area was sacred just two years ago.

Misleading people

Asad Sally, chairman of the Islamic Solidarity Front (ISF) and former deputy mayor of Colombo, stated that "it is misleading to say that the mosque was in existence for two years as it has been there for more than 65 years. We have all the documents to prove that it is a legally constructed mosque under the Waqf Act. Therefore the statement by the prime minister claiming that the unauthorised construction of the mosque has been stopped is totally false. The land on which the mosque was located was bought by a Muslim lady in Jaffna from Englishmen. This mosque has existed since then.

"Later the adjacent land too had been bought by mosque authorities in 1995. This statement by the prime minister is misleading the Buddhists in the country. The prime minister should not make such irresponsible statements as the Waqf Board comes under him and he is contradicting his own statement. Besides statements like Muslims will not have a place to urinate are not only irresponsible but very dangerous too."

Though the leader of the United National Party Ranil Wickremasinghe is yet to make a public statement on the tense situation, his deputy Sajith Premadasa described the prime minister's order as "law of the jungle and nothing to do with Buddhism". Sajith wondered "how could we develop the country when the prime minister's

office issues such false statements?"

Some public figures deplored the political pandering of the prime minister to a few Buddhist thugs, stating that in any civilised society one would expect unruly elements who vandalise places of worship to be arrested and brought to justice. Instead they have been rewarded in violation of all principles of human decency.

Following Sri Lanka's recent and turbulent past, Tamils, Muslims and others had been looking forward to a period of peace and harmony. However the intent to demolish the Dambulla mosque tears at the wounds of ethnic violence still in the process of healing, and only serves to prove that reconciliation, peace and progress are nothing but distant dreams. The historical co-existence of Tamils and Muslims among the Buddhist Sinhalese people for more than 1,000 years is under threat.

The storming of the Dambulla Mosque on Friday the 20th April and chasing away of the Muslim worshippers attending Friday prayers by a mob led by Buddhist priests is epoch making in modern Sri Lankan history. The majority of the people of all communities are shocked and incensed by the way Buddhist priests lead this violent and destructive mob against the Dambulla Mosque.

According to Western public discourse there are two types of Muslim. One is a ‘fundamentalist’ the other is a ‘moderate’ Muslim. The former is one who wants to be independent from Western hegemony and the latter is one who cozies up to the Western agenda, wittingly or unwittingly. But now there is a new kid on the block. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Rand Corporation Muslim. ‘Who the heck is he’, you might ask and quite rightly so. Well, for starters he or she is a Muslim or, more appropriately, one who wears the ‘Muslim’ name tag and one who is trained and financed by America’s Rand Corporation to dilute Islam to a point where its adherents will no longer be a stumbling block to the empire’s plans for total world hegemony. And Manzoor Ahamed, writing under the title ‘China, Pakistan and the Iranian Bomb’ (Ceylon Today’ Sat. 24 March, 2012) fits the description of a ‘Rand Muslim’ like a glove going by his vilification of Pakistan’s much maligned nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan who gave his country its ‘Islamic bomb’.

Please feel free to Contact Us with your feedback and any comments and suggestions that could lead to improve our services and better serve the Community. We love to receive feedback from the Community tot Serve the Community! - Jazakallah Khair in Advance.

Name *

Email *

Message *

Send a copy to yourself

Want to Help us ?

Your Support is Much Appreciated!

If you'd like to be part of SLMUSLIMS team in serving the community, there are many ways in which you can associate with us. Please feel free to contact us for a review by our team.
Jazakallah Khair for your good intention and support.

Name *

Email *

Phone

Are you willing to associate with SLMUSLIMS under any of the following categories?
*

Like to Support SLMUSLIMS from regional areas around the countryLike to contribute as a Journalist/WriterTechnical Volunteer - with programming knowledgeTechnical Volunteer - with Multimedia, audio/video editingDonor - Education ProjectsDonor - Orphans ProjectsDonor - Widows ProjectsDonor - for projects creating grass-root level small business opportunitiesTowards SLMUSLIMS Administration/Maintenance CostsAdvertise on SLMUSLIMS.COM